A Daughter's Smile
by Gentle-Valera-Fox
Summary: The bravest girl she ever knew, was Jenny. Looking back to the time they spent together, River can't decide if she's the mother, or the daughter. Or, what if Jenny was captured by the Silence after she flew off in 'The Doctor's Daughter?
What River never told the Doctor, and never would, was that she wasn't the only person trained by the Silence. He must have known, of course; the Silence was too big and too clever to only have one plan. But he never asked, and she never told. How could she?

* * *

The little girl was small and empty in a big white empty world. So it was no wonder the other girl surprised her. She was so full of life and hope, laughing at the emptiness as if to say that nothing it could to would tame her.

" _Hi, I'm Jenny." The bigger girl smiled, a big smile that reached her eyes. "Do you have name?"_

 _The little girl shook her head._

" _Well that won't do. How about River? Look, see? It's on your blanket there."_

Jenny was kind, and River had adored her. She was smart and strong and very fast. She always smiled; when she ran, when she talked, when she ate. River liked her smile, it always changed. Most times it was a bright, big smile that, seemed to light up a room in a way the harsh light-bulbs never could. Other times it was soft, warm—like a mother's hug. Sometimes, when she thought she was alone, Jenny would look at some far-away place only her eyes could see, and remember. Those times, it was a sad smile, that smile had always made River want to cry, because she knew Jenny never would.

Jenny liked things—lots of things. She liked starlight and nebula and seeing new worlds. She liked stories and plants and people. She especially liked new people. She especially liked River

" _Oh, quick River, come look at this planet!"_

 _It was a beautiful planet, full of rich purples and golds. The bright colors swirled together with no apparent pattern, creating a truly breathtaking sight. River thought it was the most beautiful thing she would ever see._

 _Then the sun rose from behind the translucent sphere._

 _Jenny smile turned into a laugh as her friend's face lit up with awe and color as sunlight radiated thought the planet's vivid atmosphere._

It seemed that the only thing Jenny didn't like, was killing. That lesson was the only time River had ever seen Jenny frown. Later, Jenny told River the most important lesson she'd ever learned.

" _Listen to me, River. You don't ever kill anyone, yeah? Cause, after a while, killing infects you. It steals something precious from you; and once you lose it, you can never get it back."_

" _Did you ever kill?"_

" _No. And I never will."_

" _But what if you haven't a choice?"_

 _A new smile. A knowing smile._

She was the best at training. Never missed a target, never lost to an instructor. She was the best in the field. Never failed an objective, never ran a deadline. Never killed. The instructors noticed, and they didn't like it.

 _A new training program began._

" _Subject forty-six, you will terminate item BK-739."_

" _No."_

 _Jenny stood, tall and defiant, before the instructors. Her smile was a dangerous calm, the kind you only find right before a life changing storm. She would not kill, River knew. Not even to save herself. Not even to stay with River._

 _River couldn't bear the thought._

" _Subject forty-six, you will terminate item BK-739 and move on to the next phase of training."_

" _No. I will not. My dad taught me better than that."_

" _Do not be foolish. Your father was a murderer of many millions. He would only approve."_

" _My dad was a soldier, yeah? Well, I'm not. Not yours, or anyone else's."_

" _Subject forty-six, you will terminate item BK-73, or be terminated yourself."_

 _Jenny's smile turned sad, and she glanced at River in apology._

" _I will never kill anyone."_

 _River watched the swarm of men they sent in. She saw the guns and weapons, all ready to kill. Jenny would fight, she knew, that's what they wanted. They wanted Jenny to fight. Kill. Maybe the instructors would stop the men and guns once she did._

 _Maybe they wouldn't kill her_

 _River held to that thin hope with all the desperation of a lonely child. But the men weren't called off, and so Jenny fought. Down, down, down, went the men. One after another, to blade or to fist, they all went still. She fought so well, held them off for over an hour. But in the end, they won. They always won._

Before she end, Jenny gave River one last smile. One River couldn't immediately understand, but could never forget. And she wouldn't understand until many years later, after she finished her training and saw that same smile again on the face of the man she was supposed to kill.

It was that smile, _Jenny's_ smile, that made her pause. It was, more than anything else—her parents, her quiet doubts, even _him_ —what made her stop. What made her ready to die for a man she just met.

 _It was a smile of triumph, of pride. She had listened to her father. Learned from him. Lived the way he wanted her to live, and died the way he wanted her to die. Victorious and for something she believed in._

River smiled.

* * *

" _I didn't kill him. I could have killed him, but I didn't. You were right. I had a choice."_

-Jenny, _The Doctor's daughter_


End file.
